


Breaking Down Walls

by Amaranthis



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ?? is this a character study???, Character Study, Gen, Oneshot, this is my first work for ml please be gentle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 09:17:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9173194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaranthis/pseuds/Amaranthis
Summary: The small part that said it wasn’t her fault rolled her eyes. Don’t be dramatic. He’s just having an off day. Nobody could hate you.But somehow, knowing Adrien and Chat Noir were the same turned her world upside down. Adrien was polite and thoughtful while Chat Noir wouldn’t do anything for her even when it was part of the job description. How could they be the same person when Chat Noir didn’t like her at all? How could they be separate when Adrien’s voice had been in her room and Chat Noir had left just as she entered?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SamanthaGirlScout](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamanthaGirlScout/gifts).



> Thank you for the prompt, SamanthaGirlScout! I've wanted to write Chloé for a while but I didn't really have an idea on how to start. I hope you like my take on her!
> 
> (Also, the title is a work in progress. If anyone has a better suggestion I'd love to hear it!)

“Ugh!” Chloé said to herself, tapping rapidly at her phone to tell her butler to bring some extra hairspray to her room straight away. “That stupid monster just ruined my hair!” She paused outside of her room, turning on the camera app and twisting her head to look at the flyaways that appeared after her escape from the akuma of the day. She rolled her eyes again, slipping her phone into her pocket and moving towards the door.

“Adrien,  _ cheese _ !” a low voice suddenly exclaimed from inside  _ her _ room. Chloé paused, one hand on the doorknob and the other smoothing her hair, before narrowing her eyes and pressing her ear against the door.

“I have it right here,” another voice responded. Chloé perked up, recognizing the smooth tones as her favorite person ever, Adrien Agreste. He must have been there to surprise her! But who was that other voice—?

“Let’s get out of this brat’s room quickly,” the first voice said, sounding muffled. “Wouldn’t want to spend more time than necessary so close to the cause of our troubles.” Chloé rolled her eyes. She was  _ not _ a brat.

“Don’t call Chloé a brat,” Adrien rebuked, sounding very half-hearted. Chloé made a small fist-pump, mentally cheering her friend on for setting the stranger straight. “I think she’s getting better now, at least. She didn’t even cause this akuma.” He sighed. “Still, I don’t see how going back to that photoshoot is any better. Père cancelled today, remember? I won’t get to see him until we get home.” Chloé pressed her ear closer to the door so that she practically melded to the wood, frowning harder as Adrien’s voice got more disappointed. It sounded like he was about to leave, but what was the point of hiding in her room if he wasn’t even going to wait for her?

“Well, even if your room is the least loving place in the world, it has _cheese_.” Adrien groaned.

“Shut up, Plagg. Just”—Chloé finally set her hand on the doorknob, swinging the door open with as much force as possible to scare away the creep with Adrien—” _transformé moi_!” A green light flashed from her bed, and Chloé dashed forward to be able to see the pervert properly without the wall blocking her vision, horrified at the thought of a stranger next to the place where she slept, even if it was someone Adrien knew—

—and Chat Noir leaped out the window without leaving a trace.

Five minutes after Chat Noir left her room, Chloé sat on the bed staring into nothingness and mouth still slightly agape. Her hair was still a mess, but she couldn’t bring herself to move to fix it. How could she do something so mundane after a realization like that?

“Adrikins has to be Chat Noir. Adrikins  _ is  _ Chat Noir.” She tested the words out quietly, breathing in slowly. She exhaled in a rush, hands shaking, and reached for a pillow. Inhale. Exhale. “ _ Adrikins is Chat Noir. _ ”

How was it possible that she, Chloé Bourgeois, friends with Adrien since they were toddlers, had missed all the signs? Blond hair, green eyes, the lean, athletic build, the  _ jokes  _ and banter with Ladybug…

But he didn’t act like that with her anymore, did he? How long had it been since they had spoken like that, since Chloé had really paid attention and they’d been like true friends?

“If I have to ask, doesn’t that mean it’s been too long?” she said aloud, falling back to the bed and trying to ignore the wetness gathering at her eyes. She blinked, and a tear clung to her eyelashes; she swiped at them roughly, smudging mascara and glittery eyeshadow against the back of her hand and probably across her face, but Chloé couldn’t bring herself to care about her ruined face when she thought about how much she had neglected Adrien since he’d started going to school.

_ But he has Nino, _ some part of her argued.  _ You didn’t have to spend time with him because he has Nino. _ But the bigger part of her, the part that was making her eyes fill with tears, blamed herself. Even from the short conversation she had heard, Chloé could tell that he hated modelling. He hated being at home. And worst of all, he hated  _ her _ .

The small part that said it wasn’t her fault rolled her eyes.  _ Don’t be dramatic. He’s just having an off day. Nobody could hate you _ .

But somehow, knowing Adrien and Chat Noir were the same turned her world upside down. Adrien was polite and thoughtful while Chat Noir wouldn’t do anything for her even when it was part of the job description. How could they be the same person when Chat Noir didn’t like her at all? How could they be separate when Adrien’s voice had been in her room and Chat Noir had left just as she entered?

A fat drop rolled down her face, then another and another until Chloé was crying. She bit her lip to muffle a sob, throat tight and face hot.

She’d been horrible to him, Chloé realized, swallowing hard as she thought about all the times she’d faked being busy to go out with Sabrina on a girls’ day instead of inviting Adrien to the hotel before he’d been allowed into school. Or when she’d ignored all his discomfort about autographing his own posters, dismissing it as bashfulness and disregarding the tightness of his muscles and the stiffness of his grin as he signed it for her anyways. And every time she greeted him, his flinch and attempts to pull away from her grasp wasn’t because he was embarrassed about the affection but because he didn’t want her to touch him.

And as Chat Noir, his refusal to help her out with her homework wasn’t just Chat Noir being Chat Noir. It was Adrien using his mask to avoid hurting her. It was Adrien sparing her feelings because he felt guilty.

And still Chloé, who had known him for  _ years _ , had never noticed.


End file.
